Wednesday 24 October 2018

‘Project Prayas’ By Connect Broadband To Facilitate Education of Underprivileged Children


By Tricitynews
Chandigarh 24th October:- Project Prayas, a special initiative by Connect Broadband, joins hands with Maharishi Dayanand Bal Ashram, to facilitate education of the underprivileged children in the tri-city. The project extends support to nearly 150 slum children, aiding their education, uniform, stationary and transportation needs.
The Management & the Employees of the Company are committed towards contributing to the society and participating in CSR activities remains a crucial part of HR initiatives at Connect. Rajesh Soni, HR Head, visited these children along with company employees where they distributed school sweaters and school bags to the children which were procured by voluntary contributions from employees. Rajesh Soni also encouraged the students to continue their studies further and congratulated the NGO for their diligent efforts towards this noble cause.
Arvind Jalota, Chief Business Officer, Connect Broadband said that without a doubt, education is the most powerful catalyst for social transformation. And as a socially responsible corporate we realize that child education cannot be done in isolation. Project Prayas is an initiative towards this noble cause.
With this, Project Prayas takes a step closer to building future foundations through education of next generations. Prior to this, Connect Broadband’s Project Prayas has volunteered and steered numerous CSR projects towards community development and social upliftment.



Experts, Ex-Smokers Flay Punjab’s E-Cigarette Ban


By Tricitynews
Chandigarh 24th October:- Council for Harm Reduced Alternatives (CHRA), a national tobacco harm reduction organisation that works towards reducing the tobacco health burden through safer alternatives, and Association of Vapers India (AVI), a consumer rights group that represents e-cigarette users across the country, has flayed the Punjab government’s recent ban on e-cigarettes, saying it will deprive smokers of a less harmful alternative and cause havoc with public health.
E-cigarettes are an electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) and their use is also known as vaping. Punjab has banned e-cigarettes following an advisory issued by the central government.
Noting that tobacco use in Punjab has risen from 11.7% in 2010 to 13.4% in 2017, CHRA has contended it is clear that measures adopted by the state government to check the menace are not working and additional, more effective ones are urgently needed.
It is regrettable that the government has resorted to an e-cigarette ban at a time when tobacco use and smoking in the state is on the rise. CHRA Director Samrat Chowdhery said that instead of increasing the quit pathways, the Punjab government is limiting them further by banning safer alternatives which have shown great potential across the world in helping smokers quit. He added that the lakhs of smokers in the state have a right to reduce harm to themselves and those around them by switching to less risky alternatives.
AVI has demanded the state withdraw the ban in the interest of public health. Punjab should instead regulate sale and use of e-cigarettes to keep them out of the hands of minors.
As per the findings of studies undertaken by the world’s leading medical agencies, which include American Cancer Society, Public Health England and the US FDA, use of e-cigarettes is 95% less harmful compared to tobacco cigarettes. This is because unlike in tobacco cigarettes, e-cigarettes do not have combustion that produces tar and releases toxic chemicals, which are the main cause of tobacco-related deaths.
Dr Rohan Sequeira, a cardio-metabolic physician at Mumbai’s Jaslok hospital, termed the Centre’s advisory a knee-jerk reaction. He said that when there is an alternative that is  upto 95% safer than tobacco cigarettes, there is no reason why the government should ban it.
E-cigarettes do release nicotine which is habit-forming, but contrary to common myth, it does not cause cancer. Health regulators in developed countries like the US, the UK and other European countries have permitted use of e-cigarettes given its potential in fighting the menace of tobacco. Thanks to their regulatory embrace of e-cigarettes, these countries have seen significant declines in smoking rates unlike India, which is struggling to control the epidemic as prevalence is increasing in some regions.
CHRA said that the UK, which has adopted e-cigarettes as a tool for smoking cessation, hopes to become smoking-free by 2030. But unfortunately, the Punjab government has decided to ignore developed countries’ positive experience with e-cigarettes.
Dr Sequeira said the Centre has not followed principles of developed countries in banning e-cigarettes, which is surprising as governments there tend to be more cautious in such matters given the possibility of class action suits. The government should consider regulating the sale of ENDS and follow the same protocols of sale to minors.
Dr Farrukh Khan, a senior lawyer of the Delhi high court, slammed the decision to ban e-cigarettes, saying it is perverse as judicious application of mind has not been made and international standards for regulation of ENDS overlooked while drafting it.
Dr Farrukh Khan said that the ban will help the tobacco industry, not public health. He added that he is providing pro bono (for the public good) legal services to those who intend to challenge the central advisory and states’ circulars banning e-cigarettes and other ENDS products.


Punjab Governor Releases Shiv Khera’s Winning Formula


By Tricitynews
Chandigarh 24th October:- V.P. Singh Badnore, Governor of Punjab and Administrator UT Chandigarh launched Shiv Khera’s latest book, You Can Achieve More here at Punjab Raj Bhawan today.
Internationally renowned business consultant, educator, motivational speaker and author, Shiv Khera’s latest book intends to empower people to become unstoppable. 
The secret to a meaningful life is in your hands, he said.
Talking about his book, Shiv Khera said that he is not an expert in any industry but having lived in the US for over 40 years and worked in over 25 countries, He finds that, all over the world, more than business problems, we have people problems and when we take care of our people's problems, most of our business problems are automatically resolved.
The  book is a road map for a journey to achieve more and illustrates and clarifies to help find direction in a cluttered environment.
The idea of this book is to help create an action plan to optimise potential or in other words achieve more, because acquiring facts is knowledge, interpreting facts is understanding, and the proper application of facts is wisdom.  
In his earlier best-seller You Can Win, Shiv Khera had said that a person with positive attitude cannot be stopped and a person with negative attitude cannot be helped.
While the messages contained in this book are timeless, due to their relevance, they are desperately needed today more than ever before. In fact, this book covers topics that resonate with every person's life.


आल इंडिया कार एसोसिएशन की वार्षिक डीलर मीट आयोजित: जी एस टी, स्टेट टैक्स और ट्रेड सर्टिफिकेट के मुद्दों पर हुई चर्चा


By Tricitynews
Chandigarh 24th October:- जी एस टी, स्टेट टैक्स, एन ओ सी और ट्रेड सर्टिफिकेट जैसे विभिन्न मुद्दों को लेकर आल इंडिया कार डीलर्स एसोसिएशन की एनुअल डीलर मीट का आयोजन आज किया गया। डीलर मीट में एसोसिएशन के राष्ट्रीय प्रधान जे एस न्योल भी उपस्थित हुए।
डीलर मीट के बाद पत्रकारों से बातचीत करते हुए राष्ट्रीय प्रधान जे एस न्योल ने कहा कि कार डीलर्स एसोसिएशन में सेकंड हैंड कार सेल परचेस से जुड़े व्यवसायी ही सदस्य है। कार डीलर्स से जुड़े विभिन्न मुद्दों पर चर्चा करने हेतु ही वार्षिक मीटिंग का आयोजन किया गया था। उन्होंने बताया कि मीटिंग के दौरान कि जीे एस टी को लेकर विशेष रूप से चर्चा की गई। सेकंड हैंड कार पर सरकार द्वारा 28 फीसदी जी एस टी और 22 फीसदी सेस लगाया गया था। जिसे लेकर केंद्रीय वित्त मंत्री अरुण जेटली से मुलाकात कर इसमे सुधार की अपील की गई थी। जिसके फलस्वरूप वित्त मंत्री अरुण जेटली ने छोटी कार पर 12 फीसदी और बड़ी कारो पर 18 फीसदी सपाट जी एस टी तय कर दिया। जे एस न्योल ने आगे बताया कि ट्रेड सर्टिफिकेट, स्टेट टैक्स, एन ओ सी और इनकम टैक्स की नई गाइडलाइंस जैसे मुद्दों पर भी चर्चा की गई।
एसोसिएशन के स्टेट प्रेजिडेंट गणेश्वर जैन( शैंकी) ने बताया कि कार ट्रांसफर को लेकर स्टेट टू स्टेट और स्टेट के अंदर ही पेश आ रही समस्या पर भी चर्चा की गई।